内容简介：
In early modern China, a major revival of Buddhism coincided with a surging fascination with theater. Buddhist monastics and laypeople increasingly participated in viewing, discussing, and writing plays. Far from merely serving as a medium for conveying religious teachings and practices, drama became a source of deep concern for Buddhists due to the perceived tension between spiritual discipline and worldly entertainment.
In Performing Enlightenment, Mengxiao Wang examines how Buddhist clerics and laity engaged with and drove innovations in theater during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Drawing on an extensive range of sources—including clerical sermons, scriptural commentaries, temple gazetteers, morality books, literati prose, and dramatic texts and paratexts—Wang argues that Ming-Qing Buddhists resolved the conflict between religion and entertainment by transforming theater into a creative mode of devotional practice. Consequently, playwriting, stage performance, and theatergoing all emerged as legitimate pathways to spiritual enlightenment. This interdisciplinary work provides fresh insights into Chinese studies, Buddhist studies, and theater studies while offering a comparative perspective on the complex interplay between religion, literature, and performance across cultures.
讲者简介：
Mengxiao Wang, Assistant Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures, University of Southern California
王萌筱，美国南加州大学东亚语言文化系助理教授，北京师范大学文学院本科、硕士，美国耶鲁大学东亚语言文学系博士，加州大学伯克利分校佛教研究中心博士后。主要研究领域为明清文学与佛教文化，曾获美国学术团体联合会（ACLS）-何鸿毅家族基金会佛学研究青年学者奖学金、南加州大学-亨廷顿图书馆早期现代研究所、复旦大学中华文明国际研究中心等资助。近期研究发表于《哈佛亚洲研究学报》（Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies）、《文学遗产》等中英文期刊。
王萌筱于2024年8月至2025年1月在复旦大学中华文明国际研究中心从事访问研究。
主持人简介：
Thomas P. Kelly, Assistant Professor, East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University
讲座时间：
9月23日下午12:00-1:15（美东时间）
9月24日上午00:00-1:15（北京时间）
报名链接：
https://harvard.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_YdUlq3BDRaiOMqGl8fN9iA#/registration
主办单位：
Co-sponsored by the Harvard-Yenching Insitute and the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, Harvard University.
